When I first moved to Alsace, I wish I had had a French food dictionary! There are some things that French 101 (or even French 301) isn't going to prepare you for, like words describing meat and the different cuts of beef and pork. So I've put this little French restaurant food dictionary together based on what I've experienced and learned about eating out in Alsace. Feel free to suggest new entries! I'm always updating my little French food dictionary. You can send me your suggestions here!
Ways to Describe Cuts of Meat Boulettes: normally meatballs Carré d'Agneau: rack of lamb Charcuterie: smoked and salted meats and sausages Cervalas: a short fat sausage that tastes like a hot dog Civet: ragout or stew Collet: neck Cote: for "boeuf", rib roast or prime rib Cuisse: thigh, leg Echine: spare rib Emincé: small slices of Entrecote: rib steak, rib-eye steak Escalope: for "poulet", chicken breast; for all others, "chop" or "cutlet" Faux-Filet: sirloin steak Filet de Boeuf: tenderloin of beef Filet Mignon: pork tenderloin Foie: liver Foie Gras: specially prepared duck or goose liver that tastes very differently from a normal duck or goose liver. Gésiers: gizzards Gigot d'Agneau: leg of lamb Jambon: ham Jamboneau: ham hock or ham shank cut of pork Jaret: shank, hock, knuckle Kassler: smoked and cured pork Lard: bacon, not always sliced thin like in the US Lardon: bacon, usually minced Magret: breast, usually a duck breast Onglet: prime cut of beef Os: bone, as in "avec os" or bone in Paleron: beef chuck roast Palette: shoulder Pavé: steak Panaché: variety as in "a variety of..." Pied: foot Poitrine: pork, the cut used to make bacon Queue: tail Rognon: kidney Tranches: slices Types of Meat Agneau: lamb or sheep Biche: female deer Canard: duck Cerf: male deer Chevre: goat, usually they're referring to cheese made from goat's milk. I have never seen goat's meat used for cooking anything in Alsace. Chevreuil: roe deer Coq: rooster, chicken Crevettes: shrimp Gambas: prawns Grenouille: frog Homard: lobster Langoustine: prawns similar to lobster Lieu: pollock, a white fish that can be substituted for Cod or Haddock. Lotte: Monkfish Merguez: spicy north African sausage Morue: cod Moules: mussels Noix de St. Jacques: Scallops Oie: goose Pintade: guinea fowl, similar to a pheasant Poulet: chicken Sandre: pike perch Sanglier: wild boar Truite: trout Veau: veal Volaille: chicken
A la broche: rotisserie Confit: candied or crystallized OR cooked in fat (usually its own fat if it has any fat) Coulis: fruit purée Croustillant: cooked in oil to the point of being crisp or crunchy Cuite: cooked, baked, roasted Daube: stewed, as in "en daube" En croute: baked in a crust Farci: stuffed Feuilleté: enclosed in puff pastry or mille feuille pastry dough Frite: deep-fat-fried Fumé: smoked Galette: thin cake usually cooked in a pan Matelote: fish stew Poelé: cooked in a pan in oil Ragout: stew Rösti: hashbrowned potatoes Roti: roasted Salé: cured or salt cured Tarte: an pie with no top crust, usually a somewhat thin pie Tartine: a piece of bread with a paste spread on it Tiède: warm, warmed up Tourte: a deep dish pie with a top crust Vapeur: steamed as in "à la Vapeur" Velouté: cream of
French Food Dictionary: SpicesAil: garlic Aneth: dill Canelle: cinnamon Cèpes: mushrooms called porcini, cep, penny bun, steinpilz Cerfeuil: chervil, it has a lemon anise flavor Ciboulette: chives Gingembre: ginger Girolle: chanterelle mushrooms Girofle: clove Herbes de Provence: usually a mix of basil, thyme, and oregano Laurier: bay leaf Morilles: morel mushrooms Muscade: nutmeg Oseille: sorrel, a tangy herb used in a lot of French cooking Paprika doux: paprika Persil: parsley Poivre: usually black pepper Raifort: horseradish Sel: salt
Asperges: asparagus Betterave: red beet Celeri: celeriac or celery root Celeri en branches: celery branches, what is normally called Celery in the US Chou: cabbage Chou de Bruxelles: brussel sprouts Choufleur: cauliflower Cornichon: small pickles Echalotes: shallots Epinards: spinach Haricots: beans as in haricots rouges, haricots verts, etc... Navet: turnip Oignon: onion Paprika: bell pepper Poireaux: leeks Pois: peas Pommes de Terre: potatoes Potiron: pumpkin
Agrûmes: citrus fruits Airelles: cranberries or blueberries Amande: almond Cerise: cherry Coing: quince Fraise: strawberry Fraise de bois: wild strawberry Framboise: raspberry Genièvre: juniper berry, used in Choucroute normally Groseilles: cranberries Quetsch: dark purple plum Marrons: chestnuts Merise: wild cherry Mirabelle: small yellow plum Myrtille: blueberry Noisette: hazel nut Noix: walnut Pêche: peach Prune: plum Pruneau: prune Raisin: usually it means grape Raisin Sec: raisin, literally dry grapes
DrinksEau de vie: brandy, usually fruit brandy Kir: white wine with a bit of fruit syrup, it's a popular before dinner drink or apperitif Kir Royal: sparkling wine with a bit of fruit syrup Pastis: a licorice flavored alcohol usually mixed with water and a few ice cubes, a very popular apperitif in France Pression: draft beer Vin chaud: hot spiced or mulled wine
More Information on Alsace FoodAlsatian Specialties in Restaurants French Restaurant Food in Alsace Alsatian Christmas Cookies: Bredele Go from "French Food Dictionary" to "Alsace and Food" Go from "French Food Dictionary" to the Get Alsaced home page
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